Marijuana Blog

A few months ago the Berkeley Patients Group – one of the most respected dispensaries in California – was forced from its original location by threats from the federal government.

But BPG has found a new location right down the street from the old one, and work has begun on a 14,000 square foot lot and dilapidated 1,200 square foot building that has been an eyesore for as long as most residents can remember.

The owner of the new property said she is not worried about threats from the federal government for renting to a medical marijuana outlet.

"Our property is not close to any school," said Nahla Droubi, who has owned the lot for 10 years. "The previous landlord had a very good experience with this group. He said they were very organized, and most important thing is they had no violations and great security."

The same could be said about Harborside Health Center in Oakland, but that didn’t stop the feds from threatening them.

The property owner also said that she talked to the Berkeley Police Department, the city attorney and neighboring landlords at the group's previous site down the street "and I heard they had no problems."

"It's good to see a business in that place because its been dead for a quarter century," said Herb Permillion, owner of a typewriter repair shop next door called California Office Machines. "I might have a concern about parking. Right now there is room on the street, but if they have a big overflow crowd, it could be tricky."

But another business owner nearby said they were worried that the dispensary would attract “riffraff.” A bigoted statement that just goes to show that there is much work still be done wiping the stigma from marijuana.